FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ACCESSION - PAGE 4

In her May 25 column, Linda Chavez bemoans the fact that the Supreme Court set aside the "sensible restriction" requiring cable companies to "use sophisticated technology to ensure pictures and audio were fully blocked from subscribers who did not want to receive them . . . " Perhaps she is unfamiliar with the rest of the Telecom Bill because Section 504 guarantees every cable customer the right to obtain--at no cost--a device that completely blocks...

Is it perfect, yet? No, not by a long shot. But little by little, things are getting better for travelers with disabilities, said Carol Randall, who gets around by wheelchair and scooter. She and her husband, Bill, are the force behind Access-Able Travel Source, a consumer-resource outfit that answers questions and makes referrals. Here are some of their travel recommendations. For hotels: Call the hotel directly, not the 800 number. Avoid asking yes-or-no questions; instead, ask them to tell you about accessible features.

From where I live on the Chicago lakefront, using my CTA monthly pass, I can get to either O'Hare or Midway airports in an hour or less. How will I get to the Peotone airport, how long will it take and how much will it cost me?

Some of our greatest advances in social justice, such as civil rights for blacks and women, have been in large measure the result of civil disobedience by Americans calling attention to a grave injustice. Now the grave injustice will be perpetrated on those politically incorrect pro-lifers who stand at clinics to point out the outrage of abortion. Congress is considering a "Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances" bill which would make it a federal offense subject to at least a year in jail for peacefully blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic "with intent to prevent or discourage any person from obtaining reproductive health services.

On Friday the Chicago City Council will vote on an ordinance that could save hundreds of lives. The Underage Tobacco Youth ordinance proposed by Ald. Ed Burke would restrict youth access to tobacco and tobacco products. Smoking accounts for 390,000 premature deaths each year. The majority of smokers became addicted to cigarettes at the age of 14, with some beginning as early as 11. Surely no adult wants to encourage a child to smoke, yet current laws make it easy for children to purchase cigarettes.

By Marca Bristo, President, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago | October 16, 1986

It's difficult to understand the blatant insensitivity of the CTA board to the rights of Chicago citizens with disabilities to equal access to public transportation. The board vote dismissing the proposition to equip future buses with wheelchair lifts shows ignorance of the success of transportation systems in other cities--Seattle for example, where able-bodied and disabled persons alike successfully share access to the same transportation system. Why does Chicago continue to insist on its "second city" status?

In a recent letter criticizing the Federal Communications Commission's $1 access charge proposal, James J. Sullivan asks why phone users who do not make long-distance calls should be charged for a service they do not use. We agree with the principle that people who don`t use a service shouldn`t have to pay for that service. In fact, the access charge is a fee to cover the cost of maintaining local service lines. In the past, part of this local line cost was paid for by long-distance callers, even though the line carries about 15 local calls for each long-distance call.